My Media Diet

While I was in Japan I became out of touch with U.S. news and the English language. I read the New York Times and listened to NPR as much as I could, but the slip was slow, steady, and inevitable. Now that my life has settled down and my free time has become predictable I've been able to catch up as far as tv, radio, and print go. Here's what's commanding my attention:

Television

- The Daily Show: The satire has become predictable, but the election coverage is still good. Two new faces stand out: John Oliver as the token Brit and John Hodgman as the Resident Expert.- The Colbert Report: Still has a refreshing, scathing bite to the writing. I find myself skipping over the Better Know a District segments, but The Word is consistantly well done. I'm also looking forward to the book, which supposedly will be written largely by Colbert.- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Aaron Sorkin, best known for creating The West Wing, continues to work his wordy magic here. I love the cast (especially the West Wing holdovers), though Amanda Peet's performance is lacking.

Radio and Podcasts

.:NPR:.- Morning Edition and All Things Considered [RSS]: perhaps the best national news out there.- KQED's The California Report [RSS]: My (vain?) effort to become familar with California news and politics.- WNYC's On the Media [RSS]: A weekly hour long look at issues facing the media, from the obvious (bloggers getting jailed, the ethics of anonymous sources) to the not so obvious (pop song references in legal decisions, the outing of Lonelygirl15).- This American Life [RSS]: "Stories based around a theme", though that description does it little justice. Some of the most interesting, captivating radio in existance.

I Love Work, but Owww

Earlier this week I got burned at work. >_< It wasn't a simple coffee burn or steamed milk burn, but a cheese burn. We have these new warming ovens for our breakfast sandwhiches--all of which include cheese. When I took a hot sandwhich out of the oven a stray piece of melted cheese slid off of the parchment paper and right onto my arm. Left a second degree burn about the size of a pencil eraser. When I used my other hand to brush the cheese off, a layer of skin went with it. >_<

It didn't hurt too much, which is good. I've been keeping up with band-aids and triple antibiotic (a.k.a. Neosporin), but it hasn't completely healed yet. You can be sure I'll be more careful with the sandwhiches from now on! It turns out burns are pretty common in warming stores. In fact, my shift supervisor has one in the exact same spot.

Today was a pretty crazy day at work--the line didn't stop. Oracle is in town, there's a medical conference across the street from the store, and there's a marathon on Sunday. It's gonna be interesting to say the least. ^_^

An Evening with John Hodgman

Talk about simply amazing. John was super funny while reading excerpts from his book, The Areas of My Expertise, and ultra funny while answering all of our questions. Perhaps the best was the story of his night in a British gaol after being apprehended at London Zoo after hours... I can't do it justice here.

John is so nice and really took his time with everyone. When I told him my name he was like, "Oh really, with a K?" and told me about the book Smiley's People, where Karla with a K is a Russian spy, a villain. The only famous Karla I knew of, I said, was the axe murderer Karla Faye Tucker, who isn't much better. So, when he kindly signed my book he wrote: